No matter how secure you are in your musical taste, there’s no getting around the fact that it’s uncool to like certain things.

I believe the surest test of that coolness factor is how comfortable you’d be if you pulled up to a stoplight with your windows open and Song X blaring from your speakers then turned to your left and saw another driver (let’s say an attractive member of the opposite sex) looking back at you and getting an earful of your selected tune.

If you’re listening to Celine Dion in that scenario, game over. Sure, maybe the girl or guy could turn out to be a huge Celine Dion fan, you’ll shout out an invitation to pull over and share a latte at the next Starbucks and you’ll wind up married… but that’s unlikely. Let’s play the averages here — if it’s Celine Dion, you’re sunk.

If you’re playing The Rolling Stones, on the other hand, you can’t really go wrong. I don’t care if you don’t even like The Rolling Stones. You won’t be judged negatively for playing their music. Same goes for The Beatles. And rap is always cool.

I have a lot of music that I’d happily be caught listening to. But I also have a lot of music that would cause me to blush in the Stoplight Scenario. John Mayer, Jewel, Indigo Girls, Sarah McLachlan, anything by the cast of Glee.

But the CD that’s most likely to have me hiding under my seat is Hanson’s This Time Around. And that’s too bad, because there should be absolutely no shame in enjoying that album. It’s packed with power pop gems and more talent, pound for pound, than most “cool” records.

But there’s no getting around the lack of coolness of these three tow-headed brothers. So today I’m embracing that… this blog entry is the equivalent of me driving around with the top down blasting me some Hanson.